In Philippine criminal law, homicide and murder both involve unlawfully killing another person—but they differ in their elements, aggravating circumstances, and penalties. Understanding the distinction is crucial because the same act of killing can mean a much heavier penalty if legally classified as murder.

Below is an in-depth discussion under the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and related doctrines, focusing on penalties and how courts determine them.

I. Basic Concepts and Legal Definitions

1. Homicide (Article 249, Revised Penal Code)

Homicide is the unlawful killing of a person without any of the qualifying circumstances that would make it parricide or murder.

It is sometimes called “simple homicide” in jurisprudence.
Elements:
1. A person was killed.
2. The accused killed that person.
3. The killing was not justified (no self-defense, accident, etc.).
4. None of the qualifying circumstances of murder or parricide are present.

If there are no special relationships (like spouse/parent-child) and no qualifying circumstances (like treachery), the killing is typically punished as homicide.

2. Murder (Article 248, Revised Penal Code, as amended)

Murder is also unlawful killing, but with at least one qualifying circumstance expressly listed in the RPC.

Common qualifying circumstances (not an exhaustive list):

Treachery (alevosía) – the attack is sudden or unexpected, giving the victim no chance to defend himself or retaliate.
Evident premeditation – there is proof of (a) the time the offender decided to commit the crime, (b) an act showing persistence, and (c) sufficient time for reflection.
Price, reward, or promise – the offender was paid or promised payment to kill.
Killing by means of:
- Poison
- Fire
- Explosion
- Inundation (flooding)
- Derailment, shipwreck, or other means involving great waste and ruin
On occasion of calamity (e.g., conflagration, earthquake, vehicular accident, or other misfortune) to take advantage of the situation.
Cruelty, outrage, or insult to the victim’s person or corpse – deliberately increasing the victim’s suffering or mutilating the body.
Certain killings involving protected persons (like public authorities, children, etc., depending on the specific wording of the law as amended).

If at least one qualifying circumstance is proved beyond reasonable doubt, the crime is murder, not simple homicide, and the penalty is heavier.

Important: qualifying circumstances must be alleged in the Information (the criminal charge) and proved in trial. If not properly alleged, they may only be treated as generic aggravating circumstances, which affect the period of the penalty but do not upgrade homicide to murder.

II. Penalties for Homicide and Murder

1. Penalty for Homicide (Art. 249)

The statutory penalty for homicide is:

Reclusion temporal (12 years and 1 day to 20 years)

Reclusion temporal is divided into three periods:

Minimum: 12 years and 1 day to 14 years and 8 months
Medium: 14 years, 8 months and 1 day to 17 years and 4 months
Maximum: 17 years, 4 months and 1 day to 20 years

The exact period and number of years depends on:

Presence of mitigating circumstances (e.g., voluntary surrender)
Presence of aggravating circumstances (e.g., nighttime purposely sought, superior strength)
Application of Articles 63–64 of the RPC (rules on indivisible and divisible penalties).

If there is no mitigating or aggravating circumstance, courts generally impose the medium period of reclusion temporal.

2. Penalty for Murder (Art. 248, as amended)

Under Article 248 (as amended by later laws), the penalty for murder is:

Reclusion perpetua to death

However:

The death penalty is currently not enforceable under Philippine law due to a subsequent statute that prohibits its imposition.
As a result, courts effectively impose reclusion perpetua, but still follow the technical rules on when death would have been appropriate, especially for purposes like parole eligibility and classification of the offense.

Reclusion perpetua is an indivisible penalty, with a duration of 20 years and 1 day up to 40 years in legal effect, but it has distinct legal consequences:

It is not the same as a fixed 20- or 30-year term.
It often carries consequences on parole eligibility and civil interdiction (loss of certain civil rights).

When death would have been the proper penalty (if death penalty were still allowed), courts instead impose reclusion perpetua, usually without eligibility for parole.

In practical terms, murder is punished much more severely than homicide, even though both involve killing, because the law treats murder as a heinous crime when qualified by certain circumstances.

III. Attempted and Frustrated Homicide or Murder

The stage of execution also affects the penalty.

1. Stages of Execution

Attempted – the offender begins the commission of the felony by overt acts, but does not perform all acts of execution because of some cause or accident other than his own desistance (e.g., gun misfires, victim escapes).
Frustrated – the offender performs all acts of execution which would produce the felony, but the felony is not produced due to causes independent of the perpetrator’s will (e.g., victim saved by timely medical treatment).
Consummated – all acts of execution are performed, and the felony is produced (victim dies).

2. Penalty Rules (Arts. 50–51 RPC)

Generally:

Frustrated felony: penalty is one degree lower than that prescribed for the consummated crime.
Attempted felony: penalty is two degrees lower than that prescribed for the consummated crime.

Applied to homicide (reclusion temporal):

Consummated homicide: reclusion temporal
Frustrated homicide: one degree lower → prisión mayor (6 years and 1 day to 12 years)
Attempted homicide: two degrees lower → prisión correccional (6 months and 1 day to 6 years)

Applied to murder (reclusion perpetua to death):

The starting point for degree analysis is usually considered reclusion perpetua (since death is not enforceable), and the court applies the rules on successive degrees (e.g., reclusion temporal, prisión mayor, etc.), following jurisprudential guidelines.

The exact computations can be technical, and courts use specific rules on successive degrees and indivisible penalties.

IV. Distinguishing Homicide from Murder in Practice

1. Same Act, Different Label

Example scenario:

A stabs B, who dies.

If:

The attack was sudden and gave B no chance to defend himself, and evidence shows the assailant deliberately chose that method, the court may find treachery.
If treachery is alleged in the Information and proved, the crime is murder.
If treachery is not properly alleged or not proved, the crime is homicide.

Thus, classification depends not just on facts, but also on how the prosecution alleges and proves the qualifying circumstance.

2. Qualifying vs Generic Aggravating Circumstances

Qualifying circumstances (like treachery, evident premeditation, price/reward, etc.) change the nature of the crime (homicide → murder). They must be specifically alleged.
Generic aggravating circumstances (e.g., nighttime, uninhabited place, insult or disregard of rank) do not change the nature of the offense but affect the period of the penalty (minimum, medium, or maximum).

If treachery is not alleged but evidence shows the attack was made at night in an isolated place, the court might treat those as generic aggravating—the crime stays homicide, but the penalty may be imposed in a higher period of reclusion temporal.

V. Justifying and Exempting Circumstances

Even if the act results in death, it may not be homicide or murder at all if covered by justifying or exempting circumstances (Articles 11–12).

1. Self-Defense (Article 11(1))

Killing in legitimate self-defense is not punishable if all elements are present:

Unlawful aggression by the victim
Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it
Lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending himself

Partial or incomplete self-defense can be a mitigating circumstance, reducing the penalty even if conviction (for homicide or murder) is sustained.

2. Other Justifying Circumstances

These include:

Defense of relative or stranger
Performance of duty (e.g., lawful act of a police officer, if all requisites present)
State of necessity

If fully established, they can erase criminal liability, even if the outcome is deadly.

VI. Complex and Special Crimes Involving Homicide

Certain crimes are punished under special provisions where the killing is absorbed into a single special felony with its own penalty.

Examples:

Robbery with Homicide – a single special complex crime wherein robbery and homicide are treated as one offense with a very high penalty.
Rape with Homicide – when killing occurs on the occasion of or by reason of rape.
Other special laws (e.g., involving terrorism, drugs, etc.) may impose specific penalties where death results.

In such cases:

The crime is not charged as homicide or murder under Articles 249 and 248, but under the special provision.
The penalty framework is often as severe as, or more severe than, murder.

VII. Civil Liability: Damages in Homicide and Murder

Criminal liability usually carries civil liability, regardless of whether the crime is homicide or murder.

Courts typically award:

Civil indemnity (fixed amount upon proof of death)
Moral damages (for mental anguish of heirs)
Temperate/actual damages (funeral, medical expenses, if proved)
Exemplary damages (if there are aggravating circumstances)
Interest on monetary awards at a rate set by jurisprudence

While the criminal penalty distinguishes homicide from murder, civil liability tends to be higher in murder cases because of the presence of qualifying (often aggravating) circumstances.

VIII. Procedural Aspects: Filing and Prosecution

1. Who Prosecutes?

Crimes of homicide and murder are generally public crimes. The State prosecutes them through the public prosecutor.
The victim’s family can participate through the private complainant and private counsel, particularly for civil aspects.

2. Information and Allegations

For penalties to be properly imposed:

The Information must:
- Correctly name the offense.
- Contain a description of the acts constituting the crime.
- Specifically state any qualifying circumstances (e.g., “that the killing was attended by treachery…”).

Failure to properly allege a qualifying circumstance can downgrade the case from murder to homicide, affecting the penalty range even if facts at trial show the presence of such circumstance.

IX. Summary Table of Key Differences

Aspect	Homicide (Art. 249)	Murder (Art. 248, as amended)
Nature of act	Unlawful killing	Unlawful killing
Qualifying circumstances	None (otherwise becomes parricide/murder)	At least one qualifying circumstance (treachery, etc.)
Basic penalty	Reclusion temporal (12 years, 1 day–20 years)	Reclusion perpetua to death (death not currently enforceable)
Stage – frustrated	Prisión mayor (one degree lower)	One degree lower from reclusion perpetua/death
Stage – attempted	Prisión correccional (two degrees lower)	Two degrees lower than base penalty
Civil liability	Indemnity + damages	Often higher indemnity and exemplary damages if aggravating

X. Closing Note

The difference between homicide and murder in the Philippines is not just academic. It translates into a massive difference in penalty: from a term of years for homicide, to reclusion perpetua for murder, with all its long-term consequences on liberty and civil rights.

Ultimately, the classification turns on:

The facts of how the killing was carried out,
The presence or absence of qualifying circumstances, and
The proper allegation and proof of those circumstances in court.

Anyone involved in an actual case—whether accused or as heirs of a victim—should seek individual legal advice from a qualified Philippine lawyer, since the precise penalty depends on very specific details of the incident, the Information, and the court’s appreciation of evidence and circumstances.